Initiation of traditional birth attendants and their traditional and spiritual practices during pregnancy and childbirth in Ghana
Background: Prior to the advent of modern obstetric services, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) have rendered services to pregnant women and women in labour for a long time. Although it is anticipated that women in contemporary societies will give birth in hospitals and clinics, some women still patronize the services of TBAs. The study therefore sought […]
Prevalence and determinants of incomplete or not at all vaccination among children aged 12-36 months in Dabat and Gondar districts, northwest of Ethiopia: Findings from the primary health care project
Objective Ethiopia is one of the Africa’s signatory countries for implementation of the primary healthcare strategy including immunisation. In Ethiopia, however, 16% of child death is due to vaccine-preventable disease. Thus, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and determinants of incomplete or not at all vaccination among children aged 12-36 months in Dabat and […]
Community based screening for sickle haemoglobin among pregnant women in Benue State, Nigeria: I-Care-to-Know, a Healthy Beginning Initiative
Background: Haemoglobin genotype screening at prenatal care offers women an opportunity to be aware of their genotype, receive education on sickle cell disease (SCD) and may increase maternal demand for SCD newborn screening. In developed countries, most pregnant women who access prenatal care and deliver at the hospital receive haemoglobin genotype screening. In settings with […]
Maternal CD4+ cell count decline after interruption of antiretroviral prophylaxis for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
Background: We evaluated maternal CD4+ cell count (CD4+) decline after PMTCT prophylaxis in a multi-country HIV care program. Methods: Analysis was restricted to antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive, HIV-infected pregnant women with CD4+ ≥250 cells/mm3 at enrollment. Single-dose nevirapine (sd-NVP) or short-course antiretroviral prophylaxis (sc-ARVp) with zidovudine (AZT) or AZT + lamivudine (3TC) was initiated in 11 […]
Undernutrition and its associated factors among pregnant women at the public hospitals of Bench-Sheko and Kaffa zone, southwest Ethiopia
Background: Undernutrition in pregnant women, expressed as low mid-upper arm circumference, is responsible for maternal mortality and morbidity, adverse birth outcomes, subsequent childhood malnutrition, and mortality. As a result, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of maternal undernutrition and associated factors during pregnancy in public hospitals in the Bench-Sheko and Kaffa […]
A cross sectional comparison of postnatal care quality in facilities participating in a maternal health voucher program versus non-voucher facilities in Kenya
Background: Health service fees constitute substantial barriers for women seeking childbirth and postnatal care. In an effort to reduce health inequities, the government of Kenya in 2006 introduced the output-based approach (OBA), or voucher programme, to increase poor women’s access to quality Safe Motherhood services including postnatal care. To help improve service quality, OBA programmes […]
Severe stunting and its associated factors among children aged 6–59 months in Ethiopia; multilevel ordinal logistic regression model
Background: In Ethiopia, stunting is the most common form of undernutriton. Identifying the determinants of severe stunting among children is crucial for public health interventions to improve child health. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the determinants of severe stunting among under-five children in Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. A two […]
Pills and prayers: a comparative qualitative study of community conceptualisations of pre-eclampsia and pluralistic care in Ethiopia, Haiti and Zimbabwe
Background: Pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of preventable maternal and perinatal deaths globally. While health inequities remain stark, removing financial or structural barriers to care does not necessarily improve uptake of life-saving treatment. Building on existing literature elaborating the sociocultural contexts that shape behaviours around pregnancy and childbirth can identify nuanced influences relating to pre-eclampsia […]
Measuring health system resilience in a highly fragile nation during protracted conflict: South Sudan 2011-15
Health systems resilience (HSR) is defined as the ability of a health system to continue providing normal services in response to a crisis, making it a critical concept for analysis of health systems in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCAS). However, no consensus for this definition exists and even less about how to measure HSR. We […]
Monitoring childbirth care in primary health facilities: A validity study in Gombe State, northeastern Nigeria
Background Improving the quality of facility-based births is a critical strategy for reducing the high burden of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity across all settings. Accurate data on childbirth care is essential for monitoring progress. In northeastern Nigeria, we assessed the validity of childbirth care indicators in a rural primary health care context, as […]
